Brian Zimmerman is the latest addition to the imaginePR team. A recent graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University, he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing with University honors and now focuses his efforts on the music industry.  He has listened to hundreds of demo CDs while reviewing local music for WRIR 97.3, Richmond’s Independent Radio, and believes that artists should be educated on the little details that can make their demo go a long way.  As a result, Brian has put together the following tip sheet for musicians:

What is a demo?

A demo is not quite a full on master, but it will give your audience an idea of what you sound like on a professional recording.  “Demo” is short for “demonstration recording,” and will often be how you make your first impression to A&R reps, venue bookers, managers, etc.  Record companies and venues alike listen to demos to help them decide whether or not they want you for a record deal or gig.  Below are a few pointers on how to make a quality demo.

Tip One – Know Your Listeners

First of all, know your audience.  Are you sending this demo to record companies in the hope of getting a record deal, or to local venues in the hope of booking some gigs? If you are sending out demos to record companies, know what types of artists they have signed and what their sound is.  If the signed artists play music from the opposite side of the spectrum compared to your band, than you may be looking at the wrong label.  Make sure that your sound fits the label’s repertoire.

Similarly, when sending your demo to venues you want to make sure that your sound fits their ambiance.  Otherwise, you may be wasting time and money sending demos to people who will probably not want to book your band.  Also, many bands will record their demos live so that venues can hear what they will sound like outside the studio.  This tactic is beneficial, especially if you have a crowd of people cheering you on in the background!

Tip Two -  Pick Your Best Songs

Always pick the best song from your band’s repertoire, the ones that you feel encompasses the band’s overall sound.  While they may not be your most popular songs, you need to identify the tracks that have the best performance, singing, chorus, song structure, etc. and put those on the demo.  You may even want to ask someone else in the industry beside yourself to help identify what songs are truly your best.

Also, it is a good idea to keep the number of tracks down to 2 or 3 tracks maximum.  This is because many record companies have track limits regarding the demos they will listen to; and frankly no one is going to sit and listen to a ridiculously long demo.  Lastly, it is always a good idea to make sure that all of your songs are copyrighted before sending out your demos.

Tip Three – Dress It Up

Seriously consider making a nice quality CD cover and jacket for your demo CD.  This is a great way to artistically display your band’s “brand,” and it will definitely look better than a blank CD in an empty jewel case.  This may sound expensive, but considering the fact you should only need a small number of demos to send to local venues/labels/etc., you should consider investing in software that enables you to customize and print CD covers/jackets from your home printer.  

With the prominence of MP3s today, you may even want to consider purchasing custom flash drives to upload your demo onto.  That is just another way to jazz up your demo and make it stand out.

Tip Four – Contact Info

This seems pretty simple, but you will always want to make sure that you have all of your contact information physically attached to the demo, not just the jacket. The easiest way to achieve this would be a sticker on the demo with your contact info. That way, if your demo CD gets separated from its original case, which it most likely will, there will be no questions as to who the band is and how you can contact them.  If you go with the above mentioned flash drive route, you will want to make a document on the flash drive with your full contact information as well.

Tip Five – Quality Sound

While the quality of the songs should come first, the quality of your demo’s sound is also important.  That is why you need to spend some time thinking about how you want to record your demo.  Recording in a recording studio is very expensive. However, considering the fact that your demo will have a limited number of tracks, it may be worth the money to record with professional equipment and engineers.  

If money is tight, you can find home studio recording software to record with as a cheaper alternative option.  While home studio recording software is less expensive than studio time, you may want to consider taking your home recorded demo to a professional engineer and have him master the tracks for you to get the best possible sound quality you can.

Artists On Demand radio has become one of the most popular entertainment shows on Blog Talk Radio with listeners in the thousands. You can find everything from today’s hottest up and coming bands/musicians, popular artists and photographers, directors, producers, and the most popular celebrities from TV and movies.

Presenter and booker Kristin Downer kindly agreed to answer some quick fire questions about herself, her music tastes and what she looks for from musicians on AOD:

1. What are your passions in life?
My life is filled with different kinds of passions. I love finding different and new things and helping spread the word about them. I love music and find it invigorating to find something new and unique that gives you a breath of fresh air when it comes to a business full of the same sound. I love books, and movies, and anything that can really catch your attention. And of course I am first and foremost a mom.

2. Tell us about Artist on Demand radio and how it started.
Artists On Demand started with two of my best friends, Nikki Moore and Vicky Gorman. They wanted a place for their favorite bands and musicians to be able to share their music and their own passions. I joined shortly after it started and it has taken on a life of its own! It’s much bigger than what we originally thought it would be and we have high hopes for it in the future. We interview mainstream celebrities from the hottest TV shows and Movies. We also interview directors, producers, authors, dancers, and anyone else with an art form of any kind. We pride ourselves on giving independent musicians and bands a place to share their music though. Music is our number one passion.

3. What 5 up and coming bands do you recommend we check out?

Five up and coming bands that I think everyone should check out are:

The Nova Echo - Their music is fresh and upbeat. They can make you dance or just sway in place and it always draws you in with the lyrics and the sound. They are also some of the nicest and most down to earth people you will ever meet.

100 Monkeys - I have listened to this band for quite a while and over the past year they have evolved so much. They started out just doing improv songs that they made up from ideas from the audience and themselves. Now they write amazing music with meaningful lyrics. They are multi-talented and put on an amazing stage performance which includes their “switcharoos” where the band switches up instruments throughout the show.

Ian Axel -  Ian is an amazing singer/songwriter out of New York. His skills on the piano are to die for and his music is soulful and smooth. You can hear the passion he puts into his work. I would recommend him to anyone.

EdstanleY: They are a band out of Los Angeles that are getting ready to do a mini tour around the west coast. They have a heavier sound, but amazing at the same time. Very down to earth guys with a great sound and great passion.

Forever The Day -  This band has not yet been on AOD, but I am hoping for it in the near future. An amazing group of guys with an amazing sound. They have a very classical rock feel to them and have amazing musicians within the band that add to the songs. It is well worth checking them out.

4. Do you have a tips for musicians applying to be on Artists on Demand?
The only tip for musicians that are wanting to come on Artists On Demand is to be themselves. We like unique music, upbeat personalities, and people who just generally care about their careers. We don’t want to hear someone playing someone else’s music. We want you to show who you are as a musician just give us all you got. Be you.

5. What online sites do you use the most to discover new music?
We use all sources to discover new music. A lot of the music we find is on referrals from other bands, our listeners, or a lot come from our staff. Myspace is also a great place for new music. Myspace Music has charts for unsigned and signed bands. You can find anyone you want and any genre you want. Reverbnation is also a great avenue to find good music. All the information you could want about a band is on there.